Desperately Seeking Summer

by Mandy Baggot

  ‘An adventure should not include jumping into the sea in an almost hurricane force storm.’

  ‘This whole time in Corfu has been an adventure for me. In so many ways.’ Abby rocked in the chair, sticking out her feet and trying to reach the heat from the portable radiator.

  ‘You have been through a trauma. For a few days you will feel you have suddenly worked out the meaning of life. It will pass.’ He knew because he had been through it too. For a while he had clung to the fact that everyone had survived the accident, but then the reality that, despite survival, everything had changed that day sunk in.

  ‘I don’t think I know the meaning of life,’ Abby said, getting up. ‘But I do know that I am not leaving this island until I’ve taken off your towel, and taken off this dressing gown, and we’ve … got naked together.’

  As she moved towards him he closed his eyes as all his hormones seemed to go on a pillage, rifling through every piece of him, inciting action. ‘Abby,’ he breathed.

  ‘Listen,’ she whispered. ‘I know I’m not long out of a relationship I thought was everything, and I’m guessing, because you told me you’ve never had a proper relationship, that you’ve probably had quite a number of not-proper relationships, but what it all comes down to really is … I’m ready to move on and I would like to move on with you.’

  She was close to him now, the V of the flimsy, damp dressing gown a little loose, the tie at her waist almost undone.

  ‘And when I say “move on with you”, I’m actually meaning “move on top of you” and “move under you” and most definitely “move in front of you”. She turned around then, slowly, seductively, her cotton-covered bottom rubbing against his towel-wrapped groin. It was too much. Tonight had been too much. He had nearly lost his father, lost himself, lost her. And that had hit him harder than he could ever have imagined.

  ‘You,’ he said, his tone lust-filled, ‘should not have got on my boat. It was the stupidest of all things to do.’ His fingers went to the dressing gown belt, slackening at the tie.

  ‘I’ve been a bad, bad girl,’ Abby replied, pressing her bottom harder against him. ‘You told me earlier.’

  ‘But it was also the bravest, most daring thing I have ever seen.’ He pushed his heat against her, the towel beginning to detach around his waist.

  ‘It was?’ she breathed.

  ‘And now,’ he continued, his hands, slipping the dressing gown from her shoulders. ‘Now everyone is safe, I can say it was also very, very sexy.’ He turned her around, wanting to see her expression as the dressing gown fell to the floor.

  Abby gasped. Even though this was exactly what she wanted, it was still a slight surprise to find her gown pooled at her feet and to be standing opposite this gorgeous man, completely naked. But she didn’t feel embarrassed or anxious, she simply felt empowered.

  ‘I like boats,’ she said, her hands going to his waistline and the covering of towel that was preventing him from being as nude as she was. ‘The first boat I remember being on was a pedalo. They have them on a lake in Southsea and they’re shaped like swans.’

  ‘There are no swan pedalos in Corfu,’ Theo replied.

  ‘I know,’ Abby whispered. ‘But I’ve moved up a gear now. Nothing less than a hundred horse power.’

  ‘Is that so?’

  Her heart was hammering, she had goose bumps on her skin, not from the cold but because she was aching with longing. She ripped Theo’s towel off and threw it away. And there he was. The perfect, honed, olive-skinned form she had shied away from when she’d first walked onto the terrace of Villa Pappas. There was no bashfulness now. She wanted him up close and personal and she wanted that right now.

  She clasped her arms around his neck, drawing his whole body to hers as her mouth sought his. His skin tasted exquisite, of orange and soap and sea and she dived her fingers into his jaw-length damp, clean hair. Her lips moved over his, teasing, inviting him to join in and then his mouth claimed hers, hard, with intention as deep as the kiss he returned.

  Running fingers across his chest, she kissed over his pecs and abs, and then turned around, her bum teasing his hardness as she looked at him over her shoulder.

  It would be so easy, so good, to edge her over towards the bed, watch her brace for him and take her like he had taken women in the past. But he did not want that with Abby. As much as her dance of seduction was driving him wild, he needed this to be something different, something meaningful, for however long the relationship between them lasted.

  He put a hand to her bottom, the flat of his hand smoothing over its roundness. But then he shifted, walked around her until he was facing her.

  ‘I want to see you,’ he breathed. ‘I want you to see me.’

  ‘Theo,’ she gasped, shivering.

  ‘Sit in the chair,’ he told her.

  He watched her make her way across the bare boards to the rocking chair. Slowly she sank down onto it, the throw dropping onto the floor. She was so beautiful, so natural, so full of heart as well as surprises. He stood over her, just looking, drinking in every little perfection as she stared back, eyes full of want.

  And then he moved, closing the gap between them, kissing her mouth, and fitting his body into the space on the seat, holding off from connecting their bodies too soon. He wanted to take his time, as long as he could. He wanted this union to be something neither of them would ever forget, no matter what happened next.

  Abby’s hands found his penis and she felt him quake the moment she made contact, caressing him, tempting and deliberate. She urged him downwards, hands moving upwards, onto his shoulders.

  ‘I want you, Theo,’ she breathed. ‘I want us.’

  She gasped as he moved as close as he could get, sliding into her with no more prelude. The chair rocked in time to their motion and Abby held onto him, legs open the rest of her falling apart to the rhythm of the song they were making. This was true abandon. This was deep passion. And she knew then, as Theo whispered her name, she had never experienced anything even close ever before.

  ‘Theo,’ she breathed, clawing at his skin as her body came alive with his.

  ‘My opposite,’ he replied. ‘Look what you do to me.’

  His eyes were dark and intense but the way he was looking at her was a mix of every emotion – sexy but also containing depth, a true fondness … love?

  She cried out then, the feeling too intense to control and suddenly it felt as if she were back in between the waves, being tossed up into the air and crashing back down again, the surf fizzing on her skin.

  ‘Abby,’ Theo grunted. ‘Oh, Abby.’

  ‘Hold me,’ she begged, ‘hold me closer.’

  Sixty-eight

  The sound of the sea woke Abby the next morning, but it was in complete contrast to the fierce cacophony of the night before. This morning it sounded as if calm had been restored and the waves were back to shushing up to the beach, just strong enough to tickle toes before retreating.

  ‘Black tea with sugar.’

  Theo placed the steaming cup on the floor next to the bed, then sat down on it, close to her, reaching to run his fingers through her hair.

  After the rocking chair, they had made love on the floor and finally the bed, crumbling into each other in the early hours, falling asleep, sated and content. It had been the most dramatic twenty-four hours since the loss of her job, her boyfriend and her cat.

  ‘Thank you,’ she whispered, sitting up, drawing the blanket around her nudity and leaning forward to kiss his mouth. He was wearing his shorts, just about wearable after being dried out by the one heater.

  ‘I do not like the blanket,’ Theo said, his hands pulling it to one side. ‘The fibres itch my skin.’

  She discarded the covering completely and moved forward, enveloping his mouth with hers, wanting to deepen the kiss and possibly never let it end …

  It was Theo who pulled away first, dropping the lightest of touches on her lips before sitting back and taking hold of her hands. He
looked suddenly contemplative.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Abby asked, brushing his loose hair away from his face. ‘Are you worried about your dad?’

  He shook his head. ‘No,’ he breathed. ‘He will have ingested half a cupboard full of herbs by now.’

  ‘Then what is it?’ Abby questioned. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘I have wanted to tell you, since the night you saved the children from Igor and his crazy friends on their boat.’

  ‘I’m listening,’ Abby said, taking his hands back in hers.

  He swallowed, as if preparing himself physically and mentally. The tension in him was palpable, the air between them stirring like the beginnings of yesterday’s weather.

  ‘The reason I am here in Corfu is because … back in Halkidiki there was an accident, on a boat.’ He took a breath that seemed to shake his whole body. ‘My father and I, we were taking out some of the workers of one of the big businesses we deal with, for a treat and to show them how well the boat performs, so they can experience the thrill of what they are trying to sell on our behalf to their clients.’ He paused, squeezing her hands, then looking directly at her. ‘There was a child with us, a girl, she was the daughter of one of the salesmen. She …’

  As he told the story, all the images that had haunted him flooded back. The completely unexpected swell, his inability to control the boat’s reaction to it, the vessel flipping over, trying to locate everyone, panic, confusion, Limoni’s screams …

  ‘Theo …’ Abby said softly.

  He braced himself, straightening his core, trying to toughen up. ‘She lost an arm.’

  ‘Oh no!’ Abby exclaimed. ‘Oh God, that’s terrible.’

  He nodded. It was terrible. It was unthinkable. For an eleven-year-old girl to have to live the rest of her life without an arm. ‘And I did that,’ Theo stated. ‘I made that happen.’

  ‘But, Theo, you couldn’t have known that was going to happen. Was there something wrong with the boat?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then was it just the sea? Some freak weather like we had last night? I mean, I have never seen the sea behave like that before, even on documentaries.’

  She hadn’t even considered it was something he had done …

  ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Not for sure.’

  ‘Have they investigated?’

  ‘There was nothing found wrong with the boat.’

  ‘Well, that’s good.’

  ‘They say … they think … it was nothing I had done.’

  ‘Of course it wasn’t,’ Abby said straightaway.

  ‘Why do you say that?’ Theo asked her.

  ‘Because you’re so conscientious.’ She squeezed his hands. ‘That night when you chased after Igor, when you steered him away from the children, that was someone who was thinking three steps ahead to the tragedy it could have been. Someone who thinks like that doesn’t make mistakes.’

  ‘But what if I did?’ Theo needed to tell Abby his greatest fears. ‘What if it was my fault? And Limoni is living her life without an arm because of something I did?’

  ‘Theo,’ Abby said. ‘Why do you want to punish yourself? If the investigation says it wasn’t the boat and it wasn’t anything you did, then it was simply an accident.’

  He shook his head. ‘But things like that should not happen. Not to someone so innocent.’

  He could feel the raw sensation taking hold again now. He wanted to shout and cry and rage at the unfairness of life. He knew this wasn’t just about Limoni. This was also about losing his mother. Another innocent taken too soon, leaving her family without its anchor.

  ‘Unfortunately,’ Abby said quietly. ‘It’s the nature of life. Like with my dad. His death was the reason I jumped into a relationship with Darrell. I needed someone to need me. I needed something I could get on with, be in charge of, fasten myself to.’

  He looked at her, eyes glazing over, just like his. He wanted to put his arms around her, tell her everything was going to be OK, but he couldn’t make that promise.

  ‘It’s not something I acknowledged until I had a conversation with my mum, and it made me realise that Darrell wasn’t the love of my life I thought he was.’

  ‘Abby …’ He should be saying more. He should be telling her she had made him feel like he had never felt before. That despite everything in his life being the wrong way up she had been a beacon of light through it all.

  ‘You are such a wonderful person, Theo. I am so glad I got to meet you and spend these weeks with you.’

  His heart felt like it had been scorched. ‘It sounds like you are saying goodbye.’ He blinked, watching her expression. ‘Are you?’

  ‘No,’ Abby said quickly. ‘Not yet.’

  ‘But …’

  ‘I think we both need to understand our own feelings about life and the world before we think about any feelings we have for each other.’

  She was right. She was always right. But somehow it hurt him absolutely. To think about being without her. To think about what? Going back to Halkidiki? Staying in Corfu? Moving on again? Things might have reached truce territory with his dad but there was still a lot to be worked out.

  ‘Right now,’ he whispered. ‘I do not want to think of life or the world. I only want to think about the chair over there.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Abby asked, smiling as he reached for her.

  ‘That is so,’ he replied. In one quick move he lifted her into his arms and carried her across the room as she screamed with delight. ‘Where is your phone? We need to play music.’

  ‘Happy music?’ Abby breathed.

  ‘No,’ Theo replied. ‘Dramatic, dark … very sexy music.’

  ‘Well,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘That’s a playlist I definitely want to follow.’

  Sixty-nine

  Desperately Seeking

  ‘Can I just say, again, that if I see another boat it will be too soon.’

  Abby laughed at her sister. ‘Mel, you live in San Stefanos. There are scores of boats just down there. You see them every day.’ She pointed off the terrace to where the still-calm waters were swaying the hire boats back and forth waiting for tourists to take them out for a jaunt. It was three days since they had made it back from Erikousa and the office had never been busier. Abby hadn’t been sure about using ‘Desperately Seeking employee saves Greek millionaire in worst storm in a decade’ as a PR campaign, but once all their feet were back on dry land and everyone was declared healthy and not at risk from secondary drowning, Dinis himself had insisted on it, and she hadn’t been able to hold back on the idea. It had made the Greek national papers and Melody had been tweeting influencers for retweets since the story broke, all of which had led to more properties for them to value, and more people choosing Desperately Seeking to meet their holiday home viewing requirements. Although the cash-flow problem wasn’t anywhere near solved, raffle prize-winners had, in the end, paid for their own accommodation in Erikousa, and with a sale going through imminently, a commission cheque was heading their way within days.

  ‘I’m never getting on one again though,’ Melody said, blowing out a breath.

  ‘And I thought I was the one who went out in the gale and jumped into the sea.’

  ‘You might well have been, but I was the one who threw up all the way home the next day.’

  ‘On a flat calm,’ Abby reminded. ‘Meaning it had far more to do with the amount of ouzo you drank with Milo seeing out the storm than it did with Theo’s sailing skills.’

  Melody grinned. ‘And you would know all about Theo’s skills now, wouldn’t you? I almost know … our house might have thick walls on the outside but on the inside, not so much.’

  Abby couldn’t help but blush. Theo had spent two nights at the house with her and last night she had stayed at Villa Pappas. They were on borrowed time. Theo was leaving with his father later that day, going back to Halkidiki, seeing his brother and sister and trying to work out where things went for him. There was a gnawing in her
gut about him departing Corfu but, in reality, it was too soon to move on to something permanent. This surprise summer had been all about finding out about her own capabilities and skills, as well as being part of a family team. And Theo, he had been a beautiful, hot distraction that she would never forget.

  ‘Well,’ Abby said. ‘I hear you’re going to the panegyri with Leon. You do know he was supposed to be my date.’

  ‘Shit, you don’t mind, do you?’ Melody exclaimed. ‘I thought, with you being with Theo, it would be OK. Because having two men would be a bit greedy … when you’re not me.’

  Abby laughed. ‘Of course I don’t mind.’ Then she quietened. ‘Theo’s leaving today.’

  ‘Leaving? What d’you mean leaving?’

  ‘He’s going back to Halkidiki with Dinis.’ She sniffed, dropping her eyes to her paperwork. ‘It was always going to happen. He doesn’t live here.’

  ‘Yeah, I know, but … I thought … and Mum thought …’

  ‘Thought what?’ Abby asked. ‘That she was going to get her big, fat, Greek wedding after all?’ She was looking at the wrong column now.

  ‘We thought that, you know, if Theo was here and you were, you know, getting it on with him, then you would, maybe, stay on Corfu.’

  There was so much expectation, hope and affection in Melody’s voice it cut Abby to the core. She knew that her family had loved having her here, that it had helped heal grief that had long been undealt with, and got them working as a force of Dolans once again, but she still hadn’t decided how long her Corfu episode was going to last. She had a couple more days to make a decision on her flat and she knew she ought to make that decision once Theo had gone. She needed to see how Corfu felt without him. Not because she had relied on him for anything, but perhaps, without the olive-skinned honed body pressed up against hers, without his deep, infectious laugh and his happy Greek music, it all might feel different. Not necessarily different-bad, just different. And it needed to be different-right for her to make any sort of commitment.